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    <title>Hypertext Help with LaTeX</title>
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<h1>Hypertext Help with LaTeX</h1>

<p>LaTeX is a word processing (or, more accurately, a typesetting)
    program. It typesets a file of text using the TeX program and
    the LaTeX Macro package for TeX. It does this by processing an
    input file containing the text of a document with interspersed
    commands that describe how the text should be formatted.</p>

<p>Unike many word processing programs, which concentrate on
    formatting material on the page (often called WYSIWYG, for "what
    you see is what you get"), LaTeX concentrates on "content."
    LaTeX is a Generalized Mark-up Language macro package for the
    TeX typesetting program. That is, one specifies the structure:
    sections, title, appendix, authors' names, etc., which bear
    little relation to how this will look on a page. That is
    determined by the <a href="ltx-22.html">document style</a> files
    (*.sty); standard ones are provided for such things as articles,
    reports, books, and letters. However, these style files may be
    readily replaced by others, giving a completely different look.
    Of course, it is possible in LaTeX to specify much about the
    physical layout, but this tends to be done with commands that
    define things like space between lines or amount to indent
    paragraphs rather than by positioning each piece of text on the
    page as is typical in WYSIWYG systems.</p>

<p>LaTeX produces as output a Device Independent (*.dvi) file
    that contains commands that can be translated into commands for
    a variety of output devices. It also produces a transcript or
    log (*.log) file that contains summary information and
    diagnostic messages for any errors discovered in the input file
    and an auxiliary (*.aux) file which contains cross refererence
    information for Tables, citations, etc. It is sometimes
    necessary to run LaTeX twice so that it has correct cross
    reference information, especially when modifications have
    changed the numbering.</p>

<p>These hypertext help files are meant to provide reference
    information for those with some familiarity with LaTeX. They are
    not an introduction or tutorial.</p>


<dl>
    <dt><big><b><a href="ltx-tar.html">Download This Guide</a></b></big></dt>
    <dd>How to obtain this complete guide without making 246 requests.</dd>
</dl>

<dl>
    <dt><big><b><a href="ltx-2.html">Table of Contents</a></b></big></dt>
    <dd>Links to help by subject, LaTeX command, or environment.</dd>
</dl>

<dl>
    <dt><big><b><a href="versions.html">Notes on Versions</a></b></big></dt>
    <dd>LaTeX 2.09 and LaTeX2e.</dd>
</dl>

<dl>
    <dt><big><b><a href="externals.html">LaTeX Resources on the
        Web</a></b></big></dt>
    <dd>Including REVTeX, AMSTeX, and AASTeX.</dd>
</dl>

<dl>
    <dt><big><b><a href="refs.html">Reference Books</a></b></big></dt>
</dl>

<dl>
    <dt><big><b><a href="mirror.html">Mirrors of This Site</a></b></big></dt>
    <dd>Copies of these files which might provide faster access.</dd>
</dl>

<dl>
    <dt><big><b><a href="LaTeX-info.html">About These Files</a></b></big></dt>
</dl>


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<address>
    These pages were originally created by Dr. Sheldon Green,
    who passed away in December 1995. Subsequent updates have been made
    only for purposes of page formatting and link verification.
</address>


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